The change in captaincy - replacing Ajnkya Rahane with Steve Smith - has helped Rajasthan Royals to an extent as this helped Rahane roar back to form with an elegant century, albeit in a losing cause, against Delhi Capitals. They have the upper hand against Royal Challengers Bangalore when the two teams face each other in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
It also saw Rajasthan Royals bring their campaign back on track by beating Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
RR’s win at the Eden Gardens could galvanise their players to believe in themselves, after Riyan Parag led a dramatic late comeback. And they backed up the victory over KKR with a win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last game.
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However, they still need to iron out a few flaws which have plagued them of late. The failure to grab moments, which cost them the games against Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings, is one of them.
The biggest positive for Rajasthan has been Shreyas Gopal, who, with his googlies, deceived the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Shimron Hetmyer in the previous match. Sanju Samson, who had hit the first ton of this IPL, has been good.
{{/usCountry}}The biggest positive for Rajasthan has been Shreyas Gopal, who, with his googlies, deceived the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Shimron Hetmyer in the previous match. Sanju Samson, who had hit the first ton of this IPL, has been good.
{{/usCountry}}Hosts RCB will be playing for pride after their slender hopes of entering the playoffs went up in smoke with their defeat to Delhi Capitals on Sunday.
Steve Smith will be playing his last IPL match against RCB this season before he leaves for Australia to prepare for the World Cup. The Rajasthan Royals are probably going to play an unchanged eleven.
Predicted XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Liam Livingstone, Steven Smith (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Riyan Parag, Ashton Turner, Shreyas Gopal, Stuart Binny, Varun Aaron, Jaydev Unadkat, Oshane Thomas
(With inputs from agencies)